eTrex GPS problems

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KingstonBiker

Active Member
I have a Garmin eTrex vista HCX GPS so I don't get lost on my Sunday ride.

Last weekend it started to turn itself off for no good reason. It is just as likely to turn itself off on a flat smooth road as a downhill bumpy one. At first I thought it was the batteries but I've now ruled that out. After a bit of Googling it looks like a "well known" fault with the eTrex when used for cycling - the power from the battery compartment to the PCB become disconnected.

It has now started turning off every few minutes - sometimes when not even moving. It should still be under warranty so I'll be giving Garmin a call on Tuesday. However according to the interwebs the proper solution is to take it apart and solder a couple of wires.

Somewhat surprisingly I heard a thud as I was cycling along today, thought I hit a carton or the like. Continued another mile up a hill and noticed my GPS was no longer in the shockingly bad handlebar mount. I then cycled back and managed to find it (thanks for the offers of help from several passing cyclists). And guess what ...

It was still turned on!

I later had a disagreement with Mr Garmin and we differed on opinion as to which way to go and my 40 mile ride ended up being 50+ miles (he might have been correct).

Maybe I should invest in a paper map.
 
A

amaferanga

Veteran
Location
Bolton
The bike mount isn't perfect, but all you need to do is put a little something (like a bit of electricians tape) on the mount where the bracket slots in. This will stop it from rattling in the mount and make it much less likely to come out unexpectedly. I've cycled thousands of kilometres with my Etrex Legend HCx and not had a problem.
 
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K

KingstonBiker

Active Member
I'll give that a go although it still needs to go back to Garmin as it's turning itself off when just sat on the kitchen table now :sad:
 
byegad

byegad

Legendary Member
Location
NE England
Mine did it a week ago. Changing from cheap and cheerful AA batteries to a well respected make seems to have solved the problem.
 
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K

KingstonBiker

Active Member
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K

KingstonBiker

Active Member
Well a very good turn around time from Garmin. I have my eTrex back and have just set it back up as I like it (with OpenStreetMap, my routes, etc). Looks like it is not my original one as mine had a little dent on it after falling out of the bike mount - this one looks brand new.
Garmin said it would take up to 10 working days to get it back. In fact they fixed it (i.e. sent me a new one or refurbished one) within 2 days. It was delivered by the courier to the wrong address just round the corner from where I live and I only found out today.

Looking forward to be able to record where I'll get lost again on Sunday :blush: and hopefully it'll no longer turn itself off.
 
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Borbus

Active Member
I've had my eTrex Legend for about 6 months now and I've had it mounted to my bike for long bike rides including off road. I've collected hundreds of miles of GPS traces (for OpenStreetMap). I've not had any such problems with mine. I wonder if it really is caused by being mounted to a bicycle since yours did it while just on the kitchen table too.

As for the bike mount, I have added a bit of foam adhesive insulating stuff to it to stop the GPS rattling around in the mount, and this way it also gets a bit of cushioning too.
 
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K

KingstonBiker

Active Member
No problems with my eTrex on my 40 mile ride today. Added a bit of insulation tape in to the bike mount as suggested by amaferanga. It was more secure than ever with no rattling. A happy cyclist today!
 
fungus

fungus

Veteran
Location
Tamworth
Just another thing, if you tie some loops in your lanyard 1st one 9.25" from the bottom of the unit & 2nd one 2.5" further down you can wrap the lanyard around your stem & put the gps through the lanyard then loop the remaining lanyard over the top of the gps. If your gps does then bounce out of the holder for whatever reason it will only fall as far as the lanyard will allow just make sure it hangs down around your headtube & not into your wheels
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